New customs act draft to be placed before cabinet soon

The draft of the new customs act is likely to be placed before the cabinet soon for its approval to facilitate getting the nod of the parliament in its next session. The new law has been drafted incorporating international best practices in customs procedures, including automation, special schemes for trusted traders and trade liberalisation issues, to make export-import activities easier, faster and less costly, according to senior officials of the National Board of Revenue. The officials said that the NBR was taking preparations to forward the draft of the law to the Cabinet Division in a few days for placing it in a cabinet meeting for its approval so that the bill could be passed in the upcoming session of the parliament. The parliament is scheduled to go into session from September 9. Finance minister AMA Muhith has already approved a summary prepared by the NBR in this connection, they said.The NBR has drafted the new Customs Act 2018 in Bangla language, which is to replace the existing Customs Act 1969, written in English with authenticated Bangla translation.The NBR has incorporated some international best practices in the new law, they said. The NBR first placed the draft customs act before the cabinet in September 2014. The cabinet approved the draft in principle but asked the NBR to accommodate some issues in the law. A committee headed by the principal secretary to the prime minister finalised the draft in line with the instructions of the cabinet.A senior NBR official last week told New Age that the law, however, would not come into force immediately after getting approval of the parliament.The government will fix a date through a gazette notification for enforcing the law, he said.Continued on B2 Col. 1